Table of Contents
Do astronauts steer the rocket?
Within the atmosphere, aerodynamic fins can help steer the rocket, like an airplane. Beyond the atmosphere, though, there’s nothing for those fins to push against in the vacuum of space. So rockets also use gimbaling engines—engines that can swing on robotic pivots—to steer. Sort of like balancing a broom in your hand.
How does a space capsule return to Earth?
A reentry capsule is the portion of a space capsule which returns to Earth following a spaceflight. Because a capsule shape has little aerodynamic lift, the final descent is via parachute, either coming to rest on land, at sea, or by active capture by an aircraft.
How many Gs do astronauts pull on reentry?
It’s like running a race car up to 100mph, then pressing the brakes as hard as you can without skidding. Seven Gs or greater, which is a lot, can be experienced by astronauts. Yes of course they feel G-forces! Imagine you’re driving a car at high speed down a hill.
Do astronauts pilot the spaceship?
An astronaut is a person trained to pilot a spacecraft, travel in a spacecraft or work in space. Over time, NASA missions evolved and so, too, did the qualifications for becoming an astronaut. Mission specialist astronauts work with pilots to maintain spacecraft and equipment, conduct experiments and launch satellites.
Do astronauts actually fly?
A: The Space Shuttle orbits the Earth at an altitude of 120-300 miles. We fly the shuttle to the ISS where we dock and continue work onboard the station. In the past we have taken the shuttle to the Russian MIR space station, and we have used it to visit the Hubble Space Telescope for on-orbit repairs.
How many G’s is a rocket?
Astronauts normally experience a maximum g-force of around 3gs during a rocket launch. This is equivalent to three times the force of gravity humans are normally exposed to when on Earth but is survivable for the passengers.
Did the Apollo astronauts ever sit in the capsule?
The Apollo capsule had three lying seats on its bottom, but the astronauts actually never sat in the capsule: during launch, reentry and in the ocean the astronauts were lying down, while in space they were weightless.
Why is there space under the couches in the capsule?
The space under the couches was needed to reduce the impact deceleration to the astronauts. If the astronauts would simply lie on the bottom of the capsule, there would be no shock absorption at all during splash down. I marked the attenuators with red arrows indicating their extension caused by the impact.
Why are there attenuator struts under the seats of the capsule?
There were attenuator struts to reduce the landing shock. When the capsule hit the water, the attenuators extended and the couches moved down. The space under the couches was needed to reduce the impact deceleration to the astronauts.
Why don’t astronauts sit in space?
When the astronauts fasten their seat belts in space you may call that ‘sitting’ but technically that’s no sitting because they’re weightless, it’s tying themselves to the seat. Why wasn’t the Apollo spacecraft made so that the astronauts would simply lie on the bottom of the capsule during launch and reentry, without their legs up?